Chapter 44

"Your Highness!" Luo Wenzhong could no longer bear it.

However, Zhao Hongrun's voice remained as calm and composed as ever: "What is Lord Luo doing? No one can guarantee that your son did not copy the Four Books onto his clothes. Oh, of course, this Prince believes that your son would never do such a thing, but it is still a possibility, right? As the chief examiner, Lord Luo should try to avoid such possibilities, lest people suspect you of favoritism. How can the authority of the chief examiner be maintained if people doubt you? ... This Prince believes that the stricter the supervision of your son, the more convincing it will be to the public, don't you think?"

As he spoke, he turned his head and glanced at the guards, saying coolly, "What are you waiting for?"

Chen Yu and the others sneered inwardly and immediately stripped Luo Rong down to his undergarments.

Being stripped in front of everyone, Luo Rong felt both ashamed and angry. However, intimidated by the fierce gazes of the guards, he did not dare to resist and could only endure it.

"Your Highness, there seems to be no copying."

After a show of inspecting the clothes stripped from Luo Rong, Chen Yu shook his head and said.

Hearing this, Zhao Hongrun pointed at Luo Rong's undergarments and said with a smile, "Isn't there still something?"

'Is he this ruthless?'

Even the guards were startled by Zhao Hongrun's cruel words. But thinking about how the Luo family had once plotted to frame their prince, causing them to be unjustly punished, they no longer hesitated and stripped Luo Rong completely.

'How outrageous! This is simply outrageous!'

Seeing his son pale and naked, Luo Wenzhong was so angry that his beard trembled.

"Your Highness's actions are a disgrace to propriety. I will report this to His Majesty!"

'Are you afraid of me? Ha!'

Zhao Hongrun sneered inwardly but still said the necessary words: "What is Lord Luo doing? This Prince is helping you establish a reputation for fairness... or are you, as the chief examiner, planning to relax the supervision of your son? That would be inappropriate..."

Luo Wenzhong's face turned ashen with anger. After hesitating for a long time, he finally said through gritted teeth, "The facts have proven that my son did not bring any contraband and did not copy the Four Books onto his clothes. What explanation does Your Highness have for this?"

"This shows that you have taught your son well. Congratulations." Zhao Hongrun bowed to Luo Wenzhong, making the latter almost explode with anger.

Faced with Zhao Hongrun's unscrupulous words, Luo Wenzhong was both angry and frustrated. He wanted to argue with the Eighth Prince, but his son was still naked on the ground, so he had to suppress his anger and said in a low voice, "If that's the case, can we return his clothes?"

"Of course." Zhao Hongrun shrugged and said with a malicious smile, "But before that, this Prince will give Lord Luo the 'explanation' you mentioned earlier."

With that, he slowly walked to Luo Rong and turned to the candidates nearby, saying loudly, "All candidates, listen! This is Luo Rong, the son of the chief examiner, Lord Luo Wenzhong. To avoid any talk of favoritism, Lord Luo, who is fair and impartial, has supervised his son more strictly. Truly, he is a worthy official of our Great Wei! ... Lord Luo's actions clearly demonstrate his hatred of cheating in the examination. This Prince is truly impressed and hopes that all candidates will follow the example of Lord Luo and his son, and not cheat. Otherwise, they will be severely punished!"

Hearing Zhao Hongrun's words, the Luo family almost fainted.

Was Zhao Hongrun praising them? This was clearly a way to ruin them!

Originally, the candidates did not know who had been stripped, but now, through Zhao Hongrun's words, they all knew it was Luo Rong, the son of the chief examiner, Luo Wenzhong. In three days, when the candidates leave the examination hall, this incident will surely spread throughout the capital, and even throughout the entire Great Wei.

At that time, who would remember why Luo Rong was stripped? Most people would likely treat it as a laughing matter.

Luo Rong's expression of despair and anger clearly showed this.

However, Zhao Hongrun spoke with such righteousness that, despite Luo Wenzhong's anger, he could not say anything.

'This boy... is ruthless!'

The sixteen examiners' faces changed. They finally realized that the Eighth Prince, though young, was not to be underestimated. His intelligence and cunning were terrifying.

"Go in."

Indicating to Chen Yu to return the clothes to Luo Rong, Zhao Hongrun glanced at him.

Luo Rong, not daring to look at the candidates around him, fled into the examination room with his clothes.

Watching his bare buttocks, Zhao Hongrun sneered inwardly and turned to see Luo Wenzhong looking at him with a dark expression.

"Lord Luo, there's no need to be polite. This Prince always likes to help others!"

'Polite? I'll be polite to you?'

"Ha ha ha ha—"

Luo Wenzhong was so angry that he could not speak, and a series of hateful laughs escaped his lips.

He thought the matter was over, but unexpectedly, Zhao Hongrun pointed to Chen Yu and Lu Mu and said, "Helping others to the end, Chen Yu, Lu Mu, bring a stool and sit here to watch Luo Rong. Make sure no one can say that Lord Luo is showing favoritism."

"We understand." Chen Yu and Lu Mu smiled maliciously and, after Luo Rong fled into the examination room, brought a stool and sat at the door, watching him.

They had decided that, whether he was taking the exam or eating, drinking, or using the toilet, they would stare at him with the most fierce gazes, making it impossible for him to concentrate on the exam, eat, or even use the toilet comfortably!

'What grudge do we have?'

'It's over. Poor Luo Rong...'

The sixteen examiners watched this scene in silence, exchanging glances and feeling a chill, as if they had been stripped in public.

By humiliating the Luo family and making them suffer in silence, Zhao Hongrun felt very satisfied, and even the anger from being stripped in the prison of the大理寺 (Dali Temple) was somewhat alleviated.

After all, as a prince of Great Wei, this was the first time he had been forcibly stripped. He had to teach Luo Rong a lesson to vent his anger.

He believed that with this incident and Chen Yu and Lu Mu constantly watching Luo Rong, the young man would likely fail the examination. Unless his mental strength was extraordinarily strong, he would be too preoccupied with the humiliation to focus on the exam.

'You stripped me once, I'll strip you once; the House of Zong detained me for seven days, I'll make you waste three years. ... This is fair.'

Zhao Hongrun thought to himself.

Actually, he could have been even more ruthless. Since he did not plan to spare the Luo family, he could have framed Luo Rong for cheating. The punishment for cheating in the Great Wei examinations was severe: at best, a ban from the next exam, wasting six years; at worst, exile to the border to serve as a military prisoner for ten years.

However, Zhao Hongrun did not do this. In his upbringing, the concept of 'rules' was deeply ingrained. Even his father, the Emperor of Great Wei, had to follow the rules. If not, Zhao Hongrun would not have been able to make his father compromise in the second father-son conflict.

What are rules?

Rules are standards, the bottom line for actions, principles to restrain others and oneself, and the necessary conditions for judging outcomes under the same conditions.

Just like in a game of chess, without rules, the game cannot be played.

On a larger scale, without rules, the entire world and the Great Wei would fall into chaos.

For Zhao Hongrun, the rule he followed was to bring down the Luo family without harming their lives. Before this, the Luo family had not intended to kill him, and this was the rule.

Following the rules and using any means necessary—this was the principle the Emperor of Great Wei had always taught his princes.

Now that he had dealt with Luo Rong, Zhao Hongrun planned to target Luo Wenzhong. Although the incident started with Luo Rong, the mastermind was undoubtedly the experienced Luo Wenzhong. Zhao Hongrun did not believe that the arrogant and arrogant Luo Rong could have thought of using the House of Zong to get rid of him.

If not for the Emperor's favor, the House of Zong would have detained him for much longer.

Even Zhao Hongrun had to admit that Luo Wenzhong's plan was clever. If not for the personal involvement, he might have admired the man. But unfortunately, he was the one framed.

What about the saying, 'A gentleman avenges a wrong, but not after ten years'? In Zhao Hongrun's view, ten years was too long. He wanted immediate revenge!

He had already decided to strip Luo Wenzhong of his official robes and at least remove him from his position as a Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, relegating him to a minor official for ten years.

However, how to remove Luo Wenzhong from his position was a challenge.

After all, Luo Wenzhong was a cunning man. His calmness in watching his son suffer without reacting showed his depth.

'Hmm... Should I follow the rules and attack through the Ministry of Personnel's system, or should I also frame him?'

Zhao Hongrun pondered. He felt that there were likely issues with the financial records of the examination, but whether this could be used to bring down Luo Wenzhong was uncertain.

It might be too complicated.

'PS: This book has been A-signed and is published on Qidian. I hope the readers of this book can take a minute to vote for it on Qidian. Thank you very much.'

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